In the spring of 1813, the 1st Maryland Rifle Battalion was completely reorganized. William Pinkney, who was at the time serving in President Madison's Cabinet as Attorney General, was elected as its new commander.
Now, Major Pinkney of the Maryland Militia warmed to the task and from 5 paper companies restructured the Battalion into three 50 man companies complete with new officers.
One of those companies, the 1st Baltimore Sharp Shooters was rechartered under its new captain, Edward Aisquith and would go into the history books as Aisquith's Sharp Shooters.
The Sharp Shooters fought at Bladensburg and shared the blame for the loss and burning of Washington. Four weeks later, they fought at North Point and shared the credit for saving Baltimore.
At North Point, Sharp Shooters Daniel Wells and Henry McComas were credited with mortally wounding General Robert Ross and were themselves killed minutes latter in the same action.
Captain Aisquith was killed in March, 1815 in a fox hunting accident.
The Sharp Shooters were different from the rifle companies of the western frontier. They were an urban company, part of Baltimore's 3rd City Brigade. As such, few, if any, of them had ever fired a shot in anger. They wouldn't have had the indian fighting, "battle experience" of their country cousins.
Another difference is the closeness to the Washington political scene. They would have known about Duane's Manual for Riflemen and would have tried to make it work.
Their uniforms are described in the Maryland Militia Acts of 1808 and 1812: "Green hunting frocks and trowsers with red fringe." Contemporary paintings indicate swallow tail frocks and a lack of cartouches indicating, for us, the use of belly boxes. There is also an officer directing the troops with his sword, wearing a hunting frock.
In 1986, Boy Scout Troop 438, in cooperation with the Dundalk Patapsco Neck Historical Society and the Dundalk Chamber of Commerce hosted a Defenders Day celebration at Battle Acre (site of the Battle of North Point) in Baltimore County. A group of Canadian reenactors (IMUC), who had hosted the troop the previous year at Fort York in Toronto, attended the celebration. Although a total of less than 200 people were involved, the event was an enormous success, especially the media exposure. As a result, the Chamber of Commerce proposed making it an annual affair and the following year, the Defenders Day Celebration at North Point began.
It was immediately apparent that the existing Boy Scout's wooden muskets and their dacron/polyester uniforms simply weren't good enough, so in 1987, Explorer Post 438 was created. Restricted to older youths, ages 14-20 (adults 21 and older) the Post researched and created authentic equipment and clothing and began practicing with real, period-correct weapons. Because the Exploring program is co-ed, the Post also researched and began to develop period correct interpretations for women. In 1998, Exploring became Venturing and, with no other changes, we became a Venture Crew.
Through the years, our unit grew with the Defenders Day Celebration and attended many other 1812-period reenactments including New Orleans, Fort George, Stoney Creek, Fort Erie, Bladensburg and many others. We have hit a snag with the Defenders Day celebration, but it will be resurrected, and when it does, our unit will play an important part.
We meet to drill and make equipment 3 times a month on Wednesday nights in Dundalk. For more information, contact:
Buzz Chriest
(410) 282-1997
bchriest@bcpl.net
This page was created by John Sek © 2004.